A weblog for Friends of SAR: Josephine County, Oregon

October 03, 2009

Dive Team Training: Remembering Nick

The dive team recently trained in the Illinois River near the Swinging Bridge in Selma. The divers in scuba gear swam 400 yards on their backs to an area of small rapids, where the left the river on foot to bypass the rapids and then reentered the river to dive beneath a waterfall to reach an inner pool behind the falls . ool This is the area that has claimed more lives than that of Nick Jensen, its most recent victim. The dive team members all learn how to access this treacherous area as safely as possible to facilitate the potential for successful future rescues here.

Addendum from James Phillippe:"Diving in the cold dark rivers of the Pacific Northwest is very strenuous not to mention dangerous. However, this is something they do and this is what they give to their community as public service. The cost of transportation, equipment and repairs are paid for by each diver. Each one wears approximately $3000 in dive equipment each time they enter the water. There are a lot of people who say they are divers but they only dive in calm water that is 80 degrees and unlimited visability. The divers of Josephine County Search and Rescue are trained and certified as Public Safety Divers. We thank you for this recognition." James Phillippe, Dive Team Leader.

Hints: If stops and starts, "pause" the video and let the downloading get ahead for smoother viewing. Replays run

Hiker Hell"This blog is about learning from other people's mistakes, so you don't make the same ones."
Many stories of how people on hikes got into trouble- the kind of trouble that leads to searches or recoveries.